Scientists have found evidence that the universe is just a giant hologram

Scientists have found the first proper evidence that our universe is just a big complex hologram.

Writing in the journal Physical Review Letters, researchers from the UK, Canada and Italy, say it’s down to irregularities in cosmic background radiation.

The radiation is still floating about from the Big Bang and causes the black and white static you see on an untuned TV.

A timeline showing a holographic phase becoming the 3D universe we know and love (Paul McFadden)

After studying this microwave afterglow, scientists found evidence that our universe might be contained on a 2D surface.

And it’s not as mystifying as it sounds.

Paper co-author Professor Kostas Skenderis, of the University of Southampton, explained that the idea was similar to a conventional hologram.

The film is our reality and the screen is where the universe originates from (Mike Egerton/PA)

“Imagine that everything you see, feel and hear in three dimensions (and your perception of time) in fact emanates from a flat two-dimensional field,” he said.

“The idea is similar to that of ordinary holograms where a three-dimensional image is encoded in a two-dimensional surface, such as in the hologram on a credit card. However, this time, the entire universe is encoded!”